A report on the multiple levels of systemic violence and oppression that are committedat, and fostered by the Technion University – Israeli Institute of Technology, and whyConcordia and McGill University should sever their links with this institution. This is an updated version of the initial report released on October 26, 2010.
Download the report here.
McGill and Concordia universities maintain bi-lateral exchange programs with the Technion University in Israel. What does this mean in the broader context of the denial of justice for Palestinians, the systematic discrimination they face within Israel, and the occupation and forced exile they suffer outside? The following document outlines the various levels of militarization that are created by, and fostered at the Technion, through its complicity in the Israeli military-industrial complex, and perpetuation of systematic discrimination against Palestinian citizens of Israel.
In this research, we examine the importance of the Technion University in arms research and technology and the repressive use of this technology by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). Through cooperative research programs with Israeli defense companies like Elbit and Rafael, McGill and Concordia are directly participating in the creation and development of technology for Israel’s ‘separation barrier’, parts for battle tanks, and various unmanned aircraft. Palestinian students who are citizens of Israel endure unjust treatment and inequality in all levels of state education, and Technion University is no exception. They are often denied access to programs, housing and funding, and denied the right to publicly demonstrate against these injustices.
In sum, the bi-lateral exchange programs that Concordia and McGill maintain with the Technion help to further normalize an institution that participates in military programs that are in flagrant violation of international law, maintains an oppressive campus atmosphere, and is an important tool in the systemic discrimination against Palestinians. The following document challenges these programs, and demands that they be terminated until Israeli universities comply with the demands of the Palestinian civil society’s call for an end to the occupation, the right to return for all Palestinian refugees and equal right for all Palestinian citizens of Israel
